With Someone Else
by Sketcher1994
Summary: What happens if Gajeel never 'made a move' and Levy started seeing someone else? Would he still protect her? How could he make her understand how he feels about her while trying to except that she 'loves' someone else? All while he fights an internal battle with the darkness growing within him? Warning: Spoilers for Water Park Ova and Gajeel's final battle during GMG against Rogue.
1. Chapter 1 - A Little White Lie

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**So, this is up a day early – sorry, normal posting time will resume next week (12-2pm GMT on Thursdays). Anyway! Just a little idea that came into my head, it has some action (my first fight scenes so please go easy on me O:) but helpful criticism is very welcome!) It does start a little slow, but I promise it does pick up! So without further ado, please enjoy the first chapter of my latest story! ^_^**

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**Chapter One – A Little White Lie**

Levy sighed as she sat down at one of the many tables in the guildhall, pulling her heavy book out of her bag. She hadn't had a chance to read her book in peace for weeks now and she was starting to get irritated. She'd known before she'd even started seeing him that her life would be a little livelier and more than likely a little noisier. There was one thing she'd never thought she'd have to do though, and that was what she'd done last night. She had lied to Jet and Droy. She'd told them that she was meeting Lucy here and they were going to have a girls' day.

All she really wanted was some peace and quiet to read her book – she was going insane with the severe lack of 'personal reading'. She was getting to read plenty of interesting books on their missions, but when she got back home again she constantly had the two of them arguing over her more than ever. She'd thought they'd quiet down a little about the whole seeing her thing if she finally gave one of them a chance. She was wrong, very wrong. Now she had Jet visiting her at Fairy Hills every evening, never after dark due to strict rules, and Droy arguing with him at the guild over the fact that she'd only chosen him out of pity.

She knew Droy wasn't too far out with his accusation of 'pity'. It wasn't so much 'pity' as they'd both asked her out again and he'd been the first to reach the guild the next day, true to his nickname and magic. She'd decided that maybe, just maybe, giving one of them a chance would not only make her life a little less filled with arguments but also take her mind off a certain fellow Fairy Tail mage. That was the reason she'd had to lie about why she was going to the guild – Jet wouldn't have let her come alone if he'd known she was going to be sitting at a table on her own, and it wouldn't have been because she'd be lonely.

Jet knew that if Lucy was there then the certain other male Fairy Tail mage wouldn't bother sitting down at a table with her to talk to his Levy-chan. Levy hadn't realised this though, she was clever but she'd thought it was only because it was a girls' day. She wouldn't have thought in a million years that it would be because of her stupid crush. She was fed up of the one-sided feelings she had for the Iron Dragon Slayer. They'd trained together almost every day for months, she'd gotten much stronger and faster when it came to close combat but not once had he shown anything along the lines of actually returning her feelings. Levy had decided to take the simple way out, and was currently regretting it.

Gajeel had disappeared on a two week long mission the day after it had been announced that she was seeing Jet. When he'd come back she'd tried to speak to him but he'd just grunted at her and told her that her training was complete. He'd shown no emotion at all, making him seem totally indifferent with his usual serious expression, which confirmed her suspicions that the feelings between them were completely one sided, and it was all her. He hadn't spoken to her since, but then again she hadn't been allowed to be alone since, so when could he have spoken to her?

Levy became aware of someone sitting next to her and resisted to urge to release a frustrated sigh. She wasn't going to get peace to read her book, but hopefully it would be Lucy so she'd at least get to rant about her current lack of reading. It wasn't. She looked up at the studded giant sitting next to her. Why on Earthland had he decided to sit next to her now? It had been six weeks! She looked back at her book after smiling at him sweetly, hiding her blush behind her hair.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Gajeel asked, sounding totally indifferent once again.

She looked back up at his perfectly masculine features, outlined just as perfectly by his multiple studs, confused at both the fact that he'd bothered to ask in the first place, and that he'd referred to Jet as her 'boyfriend' and not her 'pup' or her 'lapdog'. She looked straight into his crimson eyes, trying to read him but he was completely closed off. She hadn't felt this isolated from him in years.

"I told him and Droy that I was meeting Lu-chan for a girls' day." She stated, going back to her book.

"Gihe, so where's Bunnygirl?! You sure you didn't just lie to them to get some peace to read you book, Bookworm?!" Gajeel asked with a smug grin, knowing he'd gotten it right first time.

Levy's whole face went red as she turned to face him again, praying Lu-chan would walk in through the guild doors. She knew it was useless, Natsu-san would have already climbed in her bedroom window and she'd be making breakfast for three as Levy sat there staring into Gajeel's smug face. She'd been caught, and if Jet walked in now she'd have two things to explain. The first was simple, she could just say that Natsu-san must have climbed in Lu-chan's window and was holding her up. The second was much more difficult – how could she explain the fact that the second he leaves her alone she's sitting talking to the guy that he knows she's had a crush on for some time now with a huge blush on her face?!

"Um, I really was planning to spend my day with Lu-chan...I just wanted to get some reading done first..." Levy turned once again to her book, Gajeel chuckling away to himself at her terrible excuse.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?!" Levy's heart suck. Her worst fear had just come true.

Jet and Droy walked into the guild hall and marched straight in the direction of Levy and Gajeel. She knew the two of them would do anything for her, including take on someone they clearly had no chance of defeating. She sometimes wondered if that had been the reason that Jet had stayed at home the day after their announcement. She'd went to see him when he hadn't turned up but Droy wouldn't let her in the door because he was 'sick'. When she'd see him the next day she'd spotted a bandage hidden under one of his sleeves and decided not to ask.

"He'd seen me reading alone and decided to ask about my book," Levy defended, it wasn't a complete lie, "Lu-chan hasn't appeared yet. Natsu-san must have climbed in her window again."

The annoyed look on the boys' faces softened slightly but they weren't ready to back down. At least they knew that Levy-chan was completely innocent in this; why should they doubt her? She'd never lie to them just to speak to Gajeel! Levy was sweet and innocent, not to mention perfect and intelligent and clever! She was Levy-chan.

"We're here now, so you can leave her alone. We'll keep her company until Lucy gets here." Jet directed at Gajeel.

"How about we all leave her in peace so that she can actually read her book?! That's why she ditched you idiots." Levy's head shot up, wide-eyed, staring at Gajeel in both surprise and horror.

She had no idea how to react. He'd just tried to get them to leave her alone so that she could read her book! She didn't know if she should feel grateful or furious. What if Jet and Droy realised that that actually was the real reason that she'd come alone and that she_ had_ actually lied to them? They'd be really hurt and never trust her again! It would be the end of Team Shadow Gear!

"Oi, Lily! We're going on a mission!" Gajeel suddenly yelled loudly across to the black Exceed sitting on the bar drinking a glass of kiwi juice, making the whole of Team Shadow Gear jump.

"Levy-chan! How's your book?! I can't believe it's taken you this long to read it! Natsu's just finished emptying my fridge so I need to get some grocery shopping, wanna come?!" Levy had never been so grateful towards her best friend. Lu-chan couldn't have walked into the guild at a better moment!

Levy picked up her book and put it into her bag, calling over to the blonde that she'd love to. She'd just have to read her book some other time. Maybe she'd stay up late tonight?

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**Ok, so I hope you liked it! :) It's kinda a 'scene-setting' chapter; next chapter will be up next Thursday at the usual time! :D The story will start to pick up, promise! :) **


	2. Chapter 2 - Night-Time Reading

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**Thanks for the favourites and follows! :D Here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter Two – Night-time Reading**

_"Jack crept into Sophie's room, praying not to get caught by Eleanor. He could see Sophie's sheet-covered body lying soundly on the bed. She was already asleep. Jack would..."_

Thunk.

_"...Jack would just have to wake her up in his..."_

Thunk.

_"...in his own special way. He glided weightlessly..."_

Thunk.

"For crying out loud! Why can't I just be left to read in peace?!" Exclaimed an extremely irritated Levy as she got up and stormed towards the locked window.

She unlocked the window and pulled it open. Leaning out the window, she checked the gardens below for whoever had been throwing things at her window. Suddenly, a small black Exceed flew straight passed her head from the direction of the roof and landed neatly amongst the giant pile of brightly coloured cushions on her double bed. She shut the window and turned to her small friend, much less annoyed at the interruption.

"I thought you were going out on a mission with Gajeel?" She asked as she walked back over to the bed.

"Oh, sorry! Gajeel just said that as a hint to your friends to give you some time to read," the Exceed smiled up at her, "still want to read that book together? If you're busy I can go, I can see I've also interrupted your reading."

"Oh, no, its fine. It's just that Erza is waiting for that book and I've kept her waiting for weeks now! By this point she won't mind an extra day or two," she smiled, "that was very nice of Gajeel before, but I might have had a problem if Lu-chan hadn't walked in! Are you sure he doesn't mind you being here? Other than this morning, he hasn't really spoken to me in weeks."

"Gajeel was just annoyed with your friends always being so loud when they're around you. It hurts his ears, and I think he's maybe been a little jealous since you started seeing Jet. I lost him for a whole day after the big party for your announcement. He's not even been talking to me, so I've been spending my time talking to Happy and Carla. I hope nothing terrible has happened between the two of you, Levy-san?" The Exceed asked with a worried look on his face.

"I can't think of anything, Lily, sorry! When he came back from that mission six weeks ago I tried to speak to him but he just told me that my training was complete," she sighed, picking the Exceed up as she sat back down on the bed amongst the cushions.

"Well, let's read another chapter of our book, Levy-san. I figured after Gajeel had spoken to you before that things were going back to normal so I could finally visit again. If I had realised that it was just Gajeel being grumpy then I would have visited again sooner!" Lily chimed, getting comfy on her lap.

Levy placed a bookmark in the book that she had been reading, and reached across to the chest of drawers by her bed to pick up a heavy black leather bound book with etched silver writing on the cover, trying not to disturb her little black furry friend sitting in her lap. She and Lily had been reading it a chapter a night since his birthday, at least until eight weeks ago. Levy had asked Gajeel if there was anything that Lily had particularly wanted for his birthday while she and Gajeel had been standing in the bookshop in the town square. Gajeel had lifted a book off of a shelf and handed it to her, trying to look bored even though he had been the one to offer to help her carry her new books. He'd known she'd get too many to carry again. Levy opened the heavy book at the page with the dragon-shaped iron bookmark that Gajeel had made her for her own birthday.

_"Lani opened her eyes to find her only friend, her cat Linu, looking up at her with his big eyes searching hers. She pulled him into her arms and cried into his dark fur. How would she ever manage to get Sir Garek to like her? He was a great knight, but she was just a poor little scullery maid! He would never notice..."_

...

Gajeel had sat alone in the living room for over two hours now. Where was that damn cat? He started to think about heading out looking for Lily, he should have been home by now! Damn cat. Where could he be? Gajeel had told him he was going for a cold shower and left him washing the dishes left over from the dinner. When he'd come out Lily had been nowhere to be found; he hadn't even left a note. He'd considered checking with Shrimp but that would require talking to her. She'd made her decision.

He'd had to go for a cold shower after dinner because of her decision. He spent his hours building up the anger inside him while watching her _boyfriend_ fawn over her every day. He knew he should just accept her decision, that was what he was trying to do, but it wasn't easy. He had tried to act as if nothing had changed when he'd gotten back from his mission, but the whole time she'd been talking to him when he'd gotten back her new boyfriend had been pointedly glaring at him.

He'd already beaten the stupid puppy pretty badly in sheer anger at his gloating over him. The idiot had walked right up to him in the street and started rubbing it in his face, prodding him in the chest with one of his long, thin fingers – what had he expected to happen? Had he really thought that Gajeel would just stand there while he threw insults at him and boasted about the fact that Shrimp had chosen him over Gajeel's pathetic muscles? Gajeel's muscles were far from pathetic and Gajeel had decided to prove that by taking his anger over Shrimp's choice out on the idiot boyfriend standing in front of him.

Gajeel had been a little surprised not to get a lecture from Shrimp when he'd gotten back, but he'd figured he'd better not push his luck by beating her boyfriend up again just for glaring at him. They'd been constantly together for months: training, eating, book shopping, and even reading! Not once during that time had she given him a sign of wanting to be somewhere else, never mind with one of her stupid pups. She hadn't given him a single warning, not one. He'd just walked into the guildhall after lunch eight weeks ago, expecting to be met by Shrimp and Lily who'd be eager to start training as always, but what he'd been met with was Mira up on stage calling for cheers from the guild for their latest couple: Jet and Shrimp. His Shrimp.

He'd been so angry he'd just walked straight back out through the front door of the guild and headed into the mountains for a couple of hours until he'd worked off a little steam. It was on his way back at night that he'd bumped into her new boyfriend. He'd decided to skip town for a bit after that, thinking that she'd be more than just a little upset with him – it wasn't exactly the first time he'd beaten one of them up. Although most of the time she seemed more upset with them. Gajeel just figured that was because she knew it was them picking the fights. As far as Gajeel was concerned, they were too weak to bother with.

Gajeel walked upstairs after locking the front door and checking all the windows downstairs. He'd leave the bedroom window open and just go to bed; hopefully Lily would just be at Shrimp's again reading that damn book about the scullery maid and her stray cat who were trying to win the heart of some fancy knight. Gajeel only remembered what it was about because Lily had gone on about it to him for months before Shrimp had bought him it, and it _had_ sounded kinda interesting when she'd been reading it to Lily after training one time, kinda.

Gajeel lay in bed, missing the little black ball of fur that he normally crushed in his arms as he fell asleep. He closed his eyes, trying to keep Shrimp out of his head just like he'd tried so many nights before since she'd gotten a new boyfriend. He'd stopped trying to get her out of his head after she'd seemed to actually show signs of possibly liking him back. He'd thought he'd never have to get her out of his head again, but irritatingly for Gajeel, he had been wrong.

**Ok, hope you liked it! :) I was wondering if I should double up the chapters? I now kinda feel like these first two should have been one, what do you think? :/ The story will actually kick off next chapter (yay!), hope you've enjoyed it so far! :D**

_(For anyone who hasn't seen, I'm at Glasgow Comicon this weekend so Sunday's Bixanna one-shot will be delayed for a day or two – sorry!)_


	3. Chapter 3 - Clover Town's Scythe

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima :D**

**So this is up a little early, I know – I have a meeting for uni and I'll be away all day! :P I start back on Monday but by the looks of my new timetable, I'll be getting in on Mondays and Thursdays just in time to sit down and upload the next chapter! XD I may shift the time window by an hour if I'm running late all the time :P Anyway, thank you so much ****_Ice and Thunder_**** and ****_'Guest'_**** for the reviews! XD and thanks to everyone who followed and favourited, or even just read my story so far! XD**

**So, without further ado, I give you the third chapter!**

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**Chapter Three – Clover Town's Scythe**

"Levy-chan! We found a mission!" Jet and Droy called together in perfect unison as Levy walked into the guild not long after lunch.

They handed her the job poster from the board for her to read:

_"Stolen artefact: worth a great deal to my family. 800,000 Jewels for the mage that can return my wife's ancient necklace. Thieves have been traced to a small town in the nearby mountains, Clover Town. You can find me at Caldia Cathedral in Magnolia most afternoons. Please hurry, my wife is very distraught!"_

After reading the job poster, Levy walked up to the bar to let Mira know that they were heading out on the job before walking out the guild and heading off in the direction of the cathedral in the very centre of town. Jet and Droy quickly followed her out of the guild doors, smug grins on their faces at the fact that they'd found a good job that would get them away from the guild for a while, which meant getting away from a certain rival fellow Fairy Tail mage.

They reached the cathedral and showed the job poster to a jolly man just inside the door who pointed to a tall man standing in what looked like a luminous green suit that was a little on the small side. As they walked up to the man, Levy started to get a good look at their client. He was about five foot eleven with short vibrant orange hair under his green bowler hat. His luminous green suit, bowler hat and over-sized bow tie all had the same thin florescent yellow pinstripes. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt which matched his yellow suede shoes perfectly. His eyes, Levy realised as they reached him, matched his suit just as perfectly as the shoes and shirt matched! Levy couldn't believe the sight in front of her eyes – he'd certainly stand out in a crowd with all those bright colours; even if he did look creepily skeletal.

"Excuse me, Sir? We're here about the job in Clover Town retrieving a stolen ancient necklace?" Levy directed toward the brightly dressed man.

"YOU?! No, no, NO! You're _far_ too small! I asked the nice lady behind the bar for a big strong mage, not the leftovers!" Levy was furious. How dare he call them 'leftovers'! She'd been nominated for S-Class, and this sickly buffoon had just called them 'leftovers'! She took a deep breath before replying, a _very_ deep breath.

"Sir, we are a well known team of Fairy Tail mages. We are Team Shadow Gear; we specialise in ancient texts and artefacts. We are hardly 'leftovers' as you put it." She stood, pulling herself up to her full five foot one, ignoring the fact that she barely even came to the tall man's shoulder.

"Alright, alright! But you had better bring my wife's necklace back in one piece! My name is Mr Akarui, Subete No Akarui." He began, "As for my wife's necklace, it is made of white gold and has intricate sunflowers winding all the way from one end to the other. The centres of the sunflowers are inset rubies while the leaves are perfectly cut emeralds, and there are at least thirty tiny diamonds dotted throughout the intricate design."

"It doesn't sound very _ancient_, but I promise, Mr Akarui, that we will bring your necklace back," Levy said, glad that they could get away from the ridiculously brightly dressed man – Levy's eyes were actually starting to hurt!

...

Gajeel watched from the shadows as Team Shadow Gear got onto the train, and sighed. He'd decided to follow them the second he'd heard Shrimp's lapdogs mention Clover Town – there had been rumours of a new dark guild somewhere in the area and Gajeel didn't like the sound of it. He knew Clover Town was where the Guild Masters met, so why would a dark guild set up there?! He climbed onto the train and found an empty carriage; it was going to be a _very _long journey.

...

The train finally stopped in Clover Town; the stop where Gajeel was going to have to _crawl_ off the train without the help of Lily. He should have brought his partner, but the Exceed had spent the whole night with Shrimp – Gajeel's company obviously wasn't good enough for him anymore! He'd just make it off when the train started to move off again, heading back in the direction it had just come from towards Magnolia. He sighed with relief and pulled himself onto a wooden bench on the small platform. He'd stop here for a while until his world stops rocking, in a bad way, and then he'd track Shrimp's familiar scent.

After half an hour Gajeel started to make his way cautiously through the town following Shrimp's scent, while trying not to get caught tracking them; there'd be too many perfectly reasonable questions for the Iron Dragon Slayer to answer. After a short while he found himself on the far side of town, Shrimp's scent heading out into the mountains themselves. Her scent was strong so she couldn't be far. He listened for the voices of her lapdogs, knowing their loud mouths were usually easier to pick up; Shrimp would probably be quiet if she thought they were close to an enemy.

...

Team Shadow Gear approached the 'building' they'd been directed to by the butcher. They'd found out from the florist that there had been some strange people walking around lately in groups, but she hadn't known where they were coming from. The grocer across the street then told them that the butcher had said something about having seen them. That was how they now found themselves standing outside what looked like an entrance to a perfectly ordinary cave in the mountains. The smell coming from the inside suggested differently. The place stunk of stale beer and blood. Levy's stomach turned.

They carefully crept inside, keeping to the edges of the dark tunnel. The rough stone walls suddenly opened into a well lit, spacious cave as large as Fairy Tail's own guildhall, with a small dark cave to the back on the far wall next to a well stocked bar with a tall, black haired woman, dressed in clothes that clung to her body like shadows, serving one of the other members. There was about twenty members scattered around the hall, Levy didn't know how many would be in that cave at the back.

Looking around for the necklace, she noticed a large, muscular man sitting against the wall of the cavern to the left of them, not twenty meters from where they stood. She pointed him out to Jet and Droy, silently signalling them to leave the cave _very_ quietly. She'd think of a plan once they were safely out of earshot. Slowly, Team Shadow Gear crept back out of the cave, Levy glancing back to see if she could see anything inside the small cave, having failed to spot the necklace.

"Right, I'll cast 'invisibility' on both of you, then Droy – if you attack the members at the tables with your plant magic, if you can immobilise them then Jet can run through into that back cave; I think that must be where the necklace is. I'll try to distract the large Guild Master, we'll have to be fast because the invisibility spell will only get us in safely – once we start our attack they'll know exactly where we are. Jet, as soon as you have the necklace, get out of there – once you're safely out with the client's necklace, I'll cast another invisibility spell and Droy and I will follow you out. Everyone knows what they're doing?!" Levy plotted.

...

Gajeel froze. He could smell the alcohol and blood coming from the cave. He'd reached the dark guild, but that wasn't what had made him stop. Mixed in with the smell of the dark guild was that of Team Shadow Gear. They'd walked right into a dark guild. Dark guilds killed people without a second thought. He'd found out from one of the street boys that the strange men had tattoos of a gothic looking scythe in a skeletal hand. Gajeel knew instantly which guild they were walking in on. He'd heard of them while he'd been part of Phantom Lord several years ago – he'd come up against a few of their 'weaker' members on his missions. They were known to move around a lot and only ever had twenty-three members; the last he'd heard that was still true. Their Guild Master was a skeletal looking man with re-equip magic and bright green eyes with eerie yellow flecks in them known as 'the Grim Reaper'. They were Death's Claw.

A scream rose from within the cave entrance and Gajeel hurtled inside.

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**I didn't say ****_whose_**** the scream was ;) So, hope you liked it, 'it' being where things start moving, but can Gajeel save them? Do Team Shadow Gear ****_really_**** need saving? Or was it maybe a Dark Mage screaming?! ;D ****And yes, the client's name translates as 'Mr All Bright', it was on purpose (obviously), but is he who he says he is?!**

**Ok, so since no-one mentioned chapter length, I'm guessing you're ok with it? Next chapter ****_will_**** be up next week, hopefully on time – like I said, I start back at uni next week :) Monday's one-shot is Gruvia XD Still can't believe I managed to write a Gruvia! XD **


	4. Chapter 4 - The Grim Reaper

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**Thanks everyone for the follows and reviews! ^_^ I was almost late with this, I got sidetracked with sketching, sorry! 0:) I only had one lecture today so I got back early ^_^ So, here's chapter four! Hope you enjoy it!**

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**Chapter Four – The Grim Reaper**

Gajeel found himself surrounded by the bodies of twenty crushed dark guild members scattered around the destroyed guildhall and a passed out Plant Mage. He looked desperately around for Shrimp and the other pup, as well as the remaining three known dark guild members. He spotted the dark cave towards the back, and ran towards it, praying that he wasn't too late to save Shrimp while silently complementing the Plant Mage for his draw against the large group of normal-level dark mages that made up almost the entirety of the dark guild. That wouldn't have been easy.

He reached the inside of the narrow, barely lit tunnel and felt a presence closing in around him. The shadows within the cave started to condense in front of him into the shape of a tall, eerily pale-faced woman. He'd heard of their female shadow mage known as the 'Nightmare Shadow Queen', but he hadn't thought he'd ever actually meet her. He'd heard of how she got into your head, causing your worst nightmares to seemingly come true. The mage under her spell would bleed to death, desperately clawing their own eyes out while they tried to rid themselves of their horror-filled nightmares that were slowly occurring in front of their eyes. If they'd met before the Grand Magic Games then Gajeel might have been in trouble, but this was after. Now he could become the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer; he wouldn't lose to a simple shadow woman – S-Class level or not.

Gajeel started to eagerly suck in the shadows around him with anticipation. He could see her womanly figure gliding slowly towards him, her feet seemingly never leaving the ground, creating a seamless motion as the bottom of her dress remained a part of the surrounding shadows. A dark shadow began to wrap around his legs and wind up towards his torso. A huge, evil grin spread across Gajeel's face as his whole body became covered in dark, shadowy metal scales. He slowly reached one of his claws down to grab the shadow tendril, wrapping its way up his body, the grin never leaving his shimmering, studded face. Levy would have screamed, her face showing her pure terror, at the sight of him as he viciously tore apart the dark tendrils of the shadow mage, causing her high pitched, frantic screams to echo through the manmade cave. He was the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer, the consumer of shadows – to him they were nothing but a source of energy, and these didn't taste good. He left her body lying broken in the tunnel as he continued towards his Shrimp. He'd do anything to protect her.

Gajeel became one with the dark surrounding shadows and raced towards the end of the tunnel, ready to do the same as he had just done to the shadow woman to anyone who dared hurt his Shrimp. He would protect her at all costs, even Shrimp's trust. As long as she was safe, to him, that was all that mattered. He emerged at the entrance to a smaller cave with a roughly chiselled stone table in the centre, the walls lined with built in prison cells. Gajeel could see that the Speed Mage was lying passed out inside the one closest to him on his right, while the Guild Master and his giant, grumpy looking mage stood around Shrimp's struggling body on the table. Gajeel, still as a shadow, slipped into the cell alongside her unconscious lapdog, listening silently to the conversation of the two dark mages, while checking the other man's injuries. If the pup still had some magic, Gajeel could break him out of the cell and make him get Shrimp as far away from them as possible. Gajeel would take care of these two and grab the plant mage on his way out.

"Interesting, this little girl actually has second origin – it seems she'll be more useful than we thought for summoning Omoi Kage. Shadrika's gone quiet...Drilbitt, go see what she was screaming about. I doubt the other mage has gotten back up. He couldn't do anything to her anyway; Plant Mage against shadows – he never stood a chance!" The Guild Master cackled.

"Master." The large, muscular man ducked into the tunnel, filling it completely, heading towards where the screams had come from.

Gajeel woke Jet with a quick shake and told him what to do. Jet just stared, terror-stricken, into Gajeel's red eyes. This wasn't the Gajeel who'd beaten him up eight weeks ago – this was some desperate monster who'd come to rescue his princess, who Jet knew was the only one that could save Gajeel from himself. The longer Gajeel stayed like that, the closer he slipped into darkness. He watched as Gajeel ripped apart the iron bars that formed the front of the cell and started crunching on them as he walked towards the surprised Guild Master. Jet suddenly recalled what Gajeel had told him to do and dashed out of the cell to snatch Levy-chan from the clutches of the stunned man holding her down. He hauled her off the desk and made a break for it, his girlfriend in his arms.

"Re-equip: Master of Death!" The Guild Master yelled in fury. Death's torn, black cloak wrapped itself around him, replacing the garish clothes he had been wearing, the hood covering his orange hair as the gothic scythe appeared in his right hand, his re-equip oddly suiting his creepy stature and glowing yellow flecked bright green eyes, "how dare you walk into my guild and interrupt my plans! I'll just have to sacrifice you instead!"

"Gihahahahah! I was hoping you'd say that!" The evil, sadistic grin grew crazily across Gajeel's face, making him look completely demonic.

Gajeel vanished, causing the Guild Master to look around him confused by his sudden disappearance. A scaly shadow claw grabbed his leg, pulling him hard towards the floor, his head smashing against the solid stone. An iron pillar shot out of the shadows on the far side of the room, making contact with the base of his spine, shattering it. He yelled out in pain and anger. He couldn't see the continuous onslaught of attacks – the iron and shadow attacks were just too fast, even he, the Guild Master with the reputation of being Death himself, didn't stand a chance. Who was this demonic madman, set on breaking every bone in his body?!

"Gajeel!" A shout reached the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer's ears. He looked down at his victim from his current position on the shadowy ceiling of the cave. He studied the battered body below him and remembered the shadow woman in the tunnel, neither would walk again. He remembered he'd come to protect Shrimp and dropped from the ceiling. Releasing his Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer form and walked out into the tunnel towards the direction of the shout. Shrimp and her pup stood over the unconscious shadow mage, watching Gajeel's face as he approached, covered in his iron scales.

"Gajeel, what have you done?!" Jet's voice was shaking.

"Huh? I did what I had to. I can still hear her screams, she deserved it. No-one touches Shrimp, not even you." Gajeel stared down at Jet, the evil smirk still playing on his lips.

"What did you say?! I've had enough of your attitude, Gajeel! Who do you think you are?! You're supposed to be a Fairy Tail mage, not some sick, sadistic monster!" Jet shouted at him.

"I _am_ a Fairy Tail mage; I just happen to be a little over protective, that's all. I like the look of _fear_ in the eyes of the fools that hurt the people I'm close to, what's wrong with that?!" Gajeel grinned. His tongue came out, tasting the shadows. He could feel the threatening aura coming from the pathetic pup. He could take him, but maybe this time he'd just make sure Shrimp's lapdog knew not to try challenging him again, ever.

"Ga...Gajeel, let's just go home. If we leave now I'm sure we can just make the next train. I'll even try what Lu-chan does for Natsu-san when he's feeling travelsick to you if you want? Apparently it really works? I've already dealt with the giant man that was here. Jet dragged him out of the tunnel so that we could escape. He was so big that he filled the whole tunnel. Since it was the client that had just attacked us, I'm guessing that the mission was a trap..."

"Shrimp?" Gajeel interrupted her rambling, his expression softening and his scales fading away as he looked down at her hunched figure as she tried not to cry.

"Levy-chan's right, let's report this to the local authorities and just go home." Jet stated, then decided to be the 'bigger man' so to speak, "thank you for your help, Gajeel, it was much appreciated."

* * *

**Dun dun duun! The client was 'The Grim Reaper', but what had happened before Gajeel rushed in?! How will Levy feel about facing him again after being forced to witness his terrifying Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer form again?!**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the start of our twists and turns! ;D And I feel very flattered by ****_Ice and Thunder_****'s review! Thank you so much! XD And I still can't believe how many people liked 'My Unison Raid', so thank you so much to anyone who read that! XD It did come out on Sunday, not Monday – sorry! This Sunday, I will be starting to post my multi-chapter One Piece story, 'The Life of the First Mate', since I currently don't have any more one-shots 0:)**

**Hope you're enjoying 'With Someone Else', and the next chapter will be up next Thursday! ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Man of Two Faces

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to the wonderful Hiro Mashima! :D**

**Thank you for the favourites, follows and reviews! :D**

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**Chapter Five – The Man of Two Faces**

Levy sat smiling on her bed, hugging a well stuffed yellow cushion to her chest, remembering the journey home on the train with the big, 'tough' Iron Dragon Slayer curled up along the seats with his head on her lap, face only an inch from her exposed stomach, purring softly as she gently stroked his hair while he slept, a cute little smile playing on his lips. Levy's smile faded; his lips. His lips had had a completely different smile on them before. She started to cry into the cushion as she squeezed it tighter against her as she remembered the cruel, evil grin that had been on his lips as he'd snapped the iron bars of the cell. She remembered the terrifying, thirsty look in his blood red eyes as he'd munched away on those iron bars as he'd strolled, pulling himself up to his impressive full size, towards her, lying small and completely defenceless on the stone table. She remembered the brutalised body of the shadow woman, the mage that had suddenly attacked Droy just as Droy had finished his attack on the other dark mages, lying unconscious with her body broken in the tunnel.

Droy couldn't defend himself against her shadows. His plants just couldn't grasp onto her, they'd just went straight through her body as it disappeared and reformed in front of their eyes. He'd started screaming Levy's name, reaching for her blindly. That had been when Levy had screamed. She'd turned her back on her opponent to cast a sleep spell on Droy, praying to cancel out whatever evil spell the woman had cast on him. It had seemed to work as his screaming stopped, but that was when the giant man behind her had broken free of her 'BIND' and grabbed her, proceeding to carry her struggling body towards the back cave.

Something landed on the bed next her. She looked up from the cushion to see a chibi Lily handing her a tissue. She took it and wiped her face, thanking him quietly before telling him everything. Lily sat on a cushion next to her, listening patiently to her side of the story; Gajeel had already told him his. Lily had come to Fairy Hills HillsHwith the sole purpose of making sure that Levy was alright, after he'd sent Gajeel to bed of course. Lily remembered Levy telling him how scared she had been at the sight of the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer at the Grand Magic Games after they had returned to Magnolia.

She'd been ecstatic when Gajeel had won of course, but Lily knew how she felt at the sight of Gajeel's hidden power. Gajeel himself had decided never to use it again in front of her unless it was a matter of life and death. Lily could understand that it had been necessary against the female shadow mage, and to get into the back cave unnoticed, but to openly break out the cell and walk towards Levy and the Dark Guild Master? Lily wasn't so sure.

There was a knock on Levy's open window and the Iron Dragon Slayer himself slowly stepped down from the window sill. Levy looked up at him, not even bothering to try to pretend that she hadn't just been crying. Why should she even care? He was the one who'd made her cry! Confusion fell over her as she gazed up at him, now standing at the side of her bed, looking down at her with a serious, studded face. Images from the train passed in front of her eyes of the adorable purring Gajeel as he'd slept. How could they be the same man? That evil monster and that cute idiot were one and the same – how was that even possible?!

"...Shrimp...I just wanted to apologise for scaring you before...I'd just been so angry...I'd thought those idiots had failed you and you'd gotten hurt...I have to protect you, Shrimp, I promised." Gajeel looked at her, his usual serious expression only slightly softened.

"You 'have to'...What do you mean by that, Gajeel? Do you only protect me because you feel obligated to, or because you actually want to?!" Levy exclaimed, confusion and frustration clear on her face. "If it's the first then just leave, I don't need you to treat me like some defenceless child. If it's the second then...why have you been avoiding me all these weeks?! Gajeel, if it's because I'm seeing Jet then just tell me why that makes you feel like you have to avoid me! You never showed any signs of anything other than tolerating my existence before – I was just a chore to you! Why wou..."

Gajeel's lips sealed onto hers, silencing her before he disappeared out the window into the night.

Levy sat dazed on her bed. Gajeel had just kissed her. Gajeel, the man she'd had a crush on for so long, had just kissed her! He'd been avoiding her because he'd been upset with her for seeing Jet! He'd actually been _jealous_! Why hadn't he said something?! All those time when he could have 'made a move' on her, and he had never once taken a chance? Of course, he was the Iron Dragon Slayer – the idea of 'love' was probably too mushy for him!

She touched her lips where she could still feel the shadow of his kiss. She'd never felt anything like it. It had been so brief but it had just felt so right! She still couldn't believe what had just happened. She jumped when she heard a gruff voice saying her name next to her. She looked down, suddenly remembering the little Exceed sitting next to her. She started to cry again as she realised her predicament. She was already with someone else.

...

Gajeel shot in through his bedroom window. Why'd he just do that?! That was just plain stupid! That was _Salamander_ stupid! She'd already made her choice! She'd chosen one of her stupid lapdogs! Of course she'd never have chosen him! After what he'd done to her, and even after terrifying her today! How stupid was he?! He brought his fingers up to his lips. It had felt so right, her delicious lips against his. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the agonising memory. She hadn't kissed him back, what had he been thinking?! Of course she wouldn't, she chose that useless pup of hers!

Gajeel collapsed onto his bed, wishing Lily was there. He knew Lily was with Shrimp trying to sort out his mess – he'd certainly made a good job of making one today – but he needed the little Exceed now more than ever. Shrimp was in the girls' dormitories, surrounded with people she could talk to, but he was alone. He shivered at the thought of Shrimp telling all the others about what he'd just done. Maybe it was best that Lily was there. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling, a cool breeze from the window soothing his hot face.

He'd try to continue as if nothing had happened when he got back to the guild tomorrow. In fact, he'd ask the whole of Team Shadow Gear if they'd like to train with him and Lily. The plant mage wasn't actually half bad, he thought as he remembered the sight as he'd went into the 'guildhall' cave. He cringed at the idea of spending time with Shrimp's puny boyfriend, but figured training with all of them might just help him forget his pain – and hopefully get her idiot boyfriend to stop glaring at him. How could Gajeel pretend everything was fine if he wasn't allowed near Shrimp?! Mira and Salamander's team had already started asking about why he was constantly avoiding her, he couldn't admit that it was because of the Speed Mage's glares – he'd sound like he was scared of the pathetic pup!

He rolled over onto his side and stared at the picture Shrimp had had Reedus make of Happy, Lily and him looking through the cut out at the water park. That had been a good night. He grinned at the memory of Flame Brain wrecking everything. It may have been a complete pain having to help tidy up, but he'd gotten to hold Shrimp on their way down the slide, even if he had been sick! He remembered her commenting on people seeing them together and laughed at the memory of her clinging to him in the tank. How had he never shown any signs of feeling more than just 'tolerating' her, he'd even tried to keep hold of her hand as they'd been attacked by the giant white fish. Hadn't she realised that he only did things like that for her? He sighed and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would take him soon.

* * *

**Gajeel apologised! And of course ****_kissed_**** Levy, but she didn't kiss him back. Can Gajeel sort everything? Can he put things back to 'normal'? Will Team Shadow Gear even agree to train with him?!**

**...I'm sorry, this isn't exactly a happy chapter; hope it didn't ruin your mood for the day! 0;D **

**I bow under the weight of your praise, ****_Ice and Thunder_****. Thank you so much! XD**

**Heads up to everyone who read 'My Unison Raid', I'm planning to _attempt_ a Gajevy side of it since it seems to be a fairly popular request. Key word is 'attempt', if it goes badly it won't appear, sorry. On the bright side, you might get a message in a year's time saying that I've managed it! ;D Ok, so this Sunday's one-shot is an AU Gajeel/Gajevy – yes, as in about Gajeel with a little Gajevy. Not sure what anyone will think of it :) Next week's chapter may be a little late – I've been finishing uni early, but next week I won't finish until 12pm and it takes an hour to get home :P**


	6. Chapter 6 - A Fairy Tail Mage

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.**

**Thank you for the favourites, follows and review! :D**

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**Chapter Six – A Fairy Tail Mage**

"Shrimp, I was just wondering if you and the rest of Team Shadow Gear wanted to join Lily and me today to train? That plant mage of yours actually did a pretty good job yesterday against those dark guild members." Gajeel stood over Levy, who was silently reading her book, trying not to tower over her too much while he tried to earn his way back onto her good side; sitting next to her would be too forward.

_"Eleanor violently slammed the door open, rage shining in her olive green eyes as she dragged a surprised Jack out of the bed. Jack pulled the covers after him, trying to maintain some modesty in front of his lover's irate keeper. Eleanor snatched the covers back off of him fiercely, throwing them over her young, gullible niece lying naked and stunned upon the large four-poster bed wat..."_

Something gently tapped Levy's shoulder.

"I'm _trying_ to _read!_ Eleanor just found Jack _naked_ in Sophie's _bed!" _She slammed her hands over her mouth in horror, instantly realising what she'd just shouted loud enough for the entire guild to hear – including Laxus up on the second floor looking for an interesting S-class mission who laughed at her sudden outburst.

Levy's head sunk, her face crimson with embarrassment, her ears ringing with Laxus' booming laughter as the rest of the guild silently stared at her in shock. She wanted to go die in a corner, taking her complete mortification with her. She quickly glanced over at Erza who now had an eager grin on her face – at least someone wasn't surprised by what she'd just shouted, in fact it looked like the Reequip Mage was even more excited by the prospect of reading the book after her now after her outburst. She turned her head sheepishly to see who'd brought her out of her book. Her eyes fell on Gajeel's face, easily matching the colour of his eyes. Levy let out a quiet giggle at the sight of the embarrassed Iron Dragon Slayer standing utterly stunned above her.

"Yes, Gajeel?" She grinned, her embarrassment forgotten, as a flustered expression appeared across his face as he tried to regain himself.

"Uh, um, I...I...I was just...just asking if Team Shadow Gear would like to...em, you know...em, train with Lily and I...um, I hadn't meant to, em, disturb your reading..." Gajeel stuttered reaching a new level of red that Levy hadn't even thought remotely possible – he was almost starting to seem purple!

"Sure," she grinned up at him, "I'll just grab Jet and Droy! Meet you at the training grounds?"

Gajeel nodded and walked out of the guild, heading in the direction of the training grounds, his guildmates' stares and Lily silently following his dark, hunched form.

...

He stared at her pale skin as her sweat glistened in the fading sunlight. Shrimp had worked hard; keeping off Lily's and her pup's attacks with her magic, while keeping them at a distance but flawlessly avoiding their attacks if they got her within their ranges. Gajeel watched as she smiled happily up at her two training companions, telling them about how much she'd enjoyed their session. She glanced over at him and the Plant Mage and grinned.

Droy was on the ground, struggling to make his way back up onto his feet, determination in his dark eyes. He'd actually made a good challenge to Gajeel. Gajeel had spent most of his session dodging the annoying plants sprouting from everywhere, trying to grab or hit him. Droy had managed to keep Gajeel back a decent distance most of the time, using his plants to block the iron pillars flying towards him. He'd known Gajeel had been going easy on him, but it had seemed to Droy more along the lines of Gajeel keeping himself at a level he knew Droy would only just be able to handle. Maybe Gajeel wasn't so bad?

He'd heard Gajeel's complement before but had just assumed that he'd just been trying to get on Levy-chan's good side. Droy now found himself doubting that slightly; Gajeel had singled him out as soon as he'd reached the training grounds and hadn't once looked at Levy-chan during the whole training session, not even checking to see how she was holding up against her two opponents. Droy looked at the grinning mage in front of him, one more attack. A vine grabbed the ankle of Gajeel's boot, pulling him to the ground, letting out his strange little laugh as he landed on the soft grass where he had just been standing.

Gajeel had to admit the Plant Mage had some determination. Even though he could no longer get up, he was still trying to fight. He may be one of Shrimp's pathetic pups but he was definitely a Fairy Tail mage! Lily's hand reached down to the grinning Gajeel lying on the ground. He took the Exceed's hand, allowing himself to be hauled up while complementing Lily on how long he'd managed to keep up his battle form. Lily returned with a complement on Gajeel's level of self-control before turning to bow gentlemanly to Levy, thanking her for their delightful training session, and promptly turning into an adorable little black chibi Exceed again.

Levy laughed cheerfully and picked the Exceed up in her arms, cuddling the adorable little Lily he'd turned back into. Jet laid his arm around her shoulders and glared at Gajeel, turning Levy towards the guild. Gajeel pulled Droy to his feet as they both glared at Jet's back as they walked away. At least the two of them had something in common now. They nodded to each other, both silently agreeing to have another round the next day, before both heading towards the guildhall, looking forward to some hot food and a nice refreshing drink after their long training session.

...

Levy, having opened her bedroom window, settled on her bed in her pyjamas with Lily's book at the ready for when her reading companion eventually arrived. She couldn't wait to talk to him about how well today had gone! Gajeel had actually helped Droy with his training! Levy had never thought that he'd ever give either of her friends a chance, she just needed to get him to give Jet a chance and then maybe everything would be fine! Her fingertips went to her lips, no, that wasn't fair on Gajeel. She couldn't make him give Jet a chance, she was lucky that he was even talking to her! If Gajeel cared as much as Lily had told her he did, then she was lucky he hadn't just out right left the guild.

Levy yawned and decided to climb under the covers, sleep starting to make her eyelids heavy – Lily would just have to wake her when he got there. She started to slip off as something warm and furry slid gently under her arm. She smiled sleepily, knowing that the little Exceed had finally arrived. She felt the bed move slightly behind her but ignored it, assuming it was sleep playing games with her as she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Gajeel sat watching Shrimp, her chest moving in perfect rhythm as she slipped into a heavy state of sleep, exhausted from that day's intense training session. She hadn't even noticed him settling himself on the edge of her bed. It had been a while since he'd snuck in to watch her sleeping, but after today he'd decided that he wasn't going to just give up. She was still his Shrimp, he was sure of it. The smile she'd given him as she'd walked onto the training field. The jealous glares from her boyfriend every time she'd glanced in his direction. The way she hugged Lily tighter than she had ever done before after their session, burying her face into his soft, black fur. He could still hear her deep inhale of breath, the quickening of her heart. She was still his Shrimp, either that or she'd decided that Lily was the one for her. Gajeel smirked at the idea before lying down for the night, watching his Shrimp lie peacefully.

...

Levy woke up and looked at the other half of the bed, a vague memory of the bed moving last night plaguing her memories. The bed lay untouched as always. It hadn't been the first time; she used to pretend that it had been Gajeel climbing into bed beside her when her sleepy mind played tricks on her like that – it was the closest she let herself get to dreaming about him while she was awake. He filled her every dream, even now that she was seeing Jet. Her plan was failing miserably, but at least Gajeel was finally talking to her again!

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**Gajeel's plan of making things 'normal' is working, but can he keep it up? Can ****_Levy_**** keep up her own attempt of 'normality'? Will Gajeel finally confront her now that he's so sure he knows how she feels? What will Jet have to say if he does?**

**So, hope everyone liked this nice laid back 'normal' day, where Gajeel and Droy start to get along pretty well – maybe Gajeel will even join Team Shadow Gear? ;D**

**Thank you, ****_Ice and Thunder_****! XD Reviews seriously do keep me going! So thank you! XD Without them, I'd just start posting this passively, waiting until it finished so that I can start uploading my next :P (The next one is another GaLe/Gajevy called 'Who'd Have Thought', but don't worry, this still has a few chapters left! ^_^ )**

**Thanks to everyone who read 'Village Life'! ^_^ This Sunday's one-shot is a Zorobin, sorry any non-One Piece fans! On the bright side, I may or may not have a surprise for you between now and then ;P Oh, and it looks like Thursday's chapters will have to move to 1pm-3pm GMT for a couple of weeks since I'll be lucky to get home before half 1! :P Sorry!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Nosey Dogs

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima**

**Sorry for this being a day late – I was really ill yesterday :( Thanks for the favourites, follows and reviews! ^_^ Hope you enjoy this chapter! :D ***Minor cliché warning, but there is a point!*

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**Chapter Seven – Nosey Dogs**

"Why are you not over there with the rest of your team? Just because I helped you with your training yesterday doesn't make us 'best buddies', you know?" Gajeel growled at the Plant Mage sitting next to him at the bar.

Yeah, the pup had earned a little tiny bit of respect in his eyes but that didn't that mean Gajeel actually wanted much to do with him. He was still one of Shrimp's stupid lapdogs, although he seemed to spend more time arguing with the other one than complementing Shrimp recently. Maybe something had happened other than Shrimp's choice – something _must_ have happened between the two pups. Gajeel was almost feeling curious, but only 'almost'.

"Jet won't let me talk to Levy-chan anymore without talking over the top of me. He thinks he's won and he's gloating, he's even being possessive over her! Levy-chan can't get any peace now, not even to read her books," the Plant Mage sighed, "thing is, it was never about 'getting' her, it was about trying to win her heart – and I know he hasn't managed that. That's why he's trying to keep her all to himself; he's worried that if he leaves her alone she'll 'find someone else' while he's not watching over her. You know, she hasn't even kissed him yet?! She'll only kiss him on the cheek, and she's even done that to me a few times! I'll believe he's actually won her heart if he can get her real first kiss!"

"What?!" Gajeel had only been half listening and jumped at the phrase 'first kiss'.

"Levy-chan has never actually kissed anyone on the mouth, even though she's been going out with Jet for eight weeks! He's really annoyed that he still can't even get her to kiss him properly," Droy explained, confused at the sight of a slight pink tinge to Gajeel's cheeks.

Droy looked back and forward between Gajeel and the rest of Team Shadow Gear on the other side of the guildhall. He blinked, looked back at Gajeel before looking at Levy-chan once more. Why was Gajeel blushing? He's Gajeel, he doesn't blush – why would he blush at Levy-chan never having kissed someone. His eyes went wide as he stared at Gajeel who was clearly starting to get irritated at being stared at.

"YOU'VE KISSED LEVY-CHAN?!" The whole guild, including said female Solid Script Mage herself, turned to look at the two men sitting at the bar, silence instantly filling the guildhall.

"WHAT?!" Gajeel choked out as the bolt he'd just been chewing on hit the wall just to the left of Mira's head.

"But you were blushing?! You don't blush; you're Black Steel Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer! Have you kissed Levy-chan? You have, haven't you?!" exclaimed Droy, stuck between dismay and feeling ecstatic that Jet _couldn't_ be Levy-chan's first kiss.

"Why the hell would I do that?!" Gajeel defended himself, trying to sound angrier at the suggestion than embarrassed at the fact he'd _taken_ her first kiss.

Droy's face fell, he wasn't even sure why Gajeel was a better option than Jet, his best friend, but his guess had been wrong. He realised the whole guild was staring at them and turned red – no wonder the Dragon Slayer had been so upset with him! He'd just been confronted in front of the whole guild about his relationship with Levy-chan! Droy got off his stool, apologising sincerely for offending him before walking towards the rest of Team Shadow Gear with his head down, knowing he was lucky to have only been shouted at.

Gajeel glared at the Plant Mage's back before going back to his meal. Once everyone went back to what they'd been doing, Gajeel glanced across at Shrimp to see if she was ok. She was sitting with her fists clenched on her lap with her head down, hiding her face behind her mass of wavy blue hair, being forced to listen to her pathetic pups as they argued about her first kiss. Should he go rescue her? Should he send Lily to? No wonder she was embarrassed! The entire guild had just witnessed her friend's outburst, accusing the two of them of having kissed!

Gajeel got up and walked towards their table, ignoring the stares he was getting. He stood behind Shrimp and put a hand on her shoulder, silently asking if she was ok. Shrimp nodded, starting to get up but Gajeel held her where she was. He had to sort this mess out now in front of the whole guild, as much as he'd prefer to talk to her in private – that would just make the gossip worse. Gajeel would be able to ignore the others, but Shrimp was friends with everyone around them and she had an obnoxious boyfriend who wouldn't leave her alone until his suspicions had been confirmed either way. He couldn't put Shrimp through that.

"Shrimp. Sorry about that, he'd started to talk about kissing and stuff, and, eh, I started to feel a little uncomfortable. I glanced over here hoping he'd take the hint to join you guys and leave me alone – I hadn't thought he'd jump to that conclusion. Your pup has one hell of an imagination, Shrimp, sorry if you're upset, didn't mean to offend you. " Gajeel hoped that would take at least some of the heat off of her and onto him.

He'd rather be thought of as being a little 'uncomfortable' about the subject of romantic shit for a couple of days than have Shrimp punished for his mistakes. He should never have kissed her the other night, and he certainly shouldn't have risked her pup guessing, never mind guessing in front of the entire guild! He went to lift his hand off of her shoulder only for it to be stopped by Shrimp's soft touch. He blushed a little again, cursing himself for it, while he waited for her to speak.

"I'm ok...you don't need to apologise...em...Gajeel?" Shrimp's head started to turn towards him, still looking down at the floor, "...did...did it mean anything...? I mean...it's just...I'm sorry!"

She got up and ran out of the guild. Gajeel stood stunned. Had she been asking about the kiss...? Had she seriously just asked if it had meant anything? Gajeel cursed under his breath; he'd tried to take the heat off of her and he'd just upset her even more. He'd made the situation worse. Everyone was, once again, staring. He stared at Jet. Jet took the hint and ran after Shrimp; better Jet than him. He'd done enough damage for one day.

"Training?" It was a simple question to which the Plant Mage nodded silently to, watching the door that his two friends had just left through, surprised and upset by what he had started.

...

"Levy-chan? Gajeel apologised so what's wrong? Are you still offended? Droy was just being..."

"He kissed me." It was a whisper, but it was enough to stop Jet in his tracks.

"What?! Gajeel kissed you?! How dare that monster force himself on you! Levy-chan, when did he kiss you?! Are you alright?! I'll make..."

"No. Jet..." Levy paused, deciding to try to answer his rushed questions in order, "yes, Gajeel has kissed me. I'd been upset, and...and I'd started accusing him of having no right to be upset and ignoring me because I was seeing you, and...and he just kissed me – it only lasted a couple of seconds and then he was out of my window as if he'd never been there in the first place... I think he's regretted it since...I think that's why he was so angry with Droy for even suggesting it! It...it was after our last mission...against Death's Claw? ...I've just been so confused since...I...I don't know what to do!"

Jet stood as the tears started rolling down her flushed cheeks as she stared hard at the ground. Why hadn't she told him? Had he pushed her too hard to be his 'real' girlfriend? Did she not trust him anymore? Had she thought he'd be upset with her because of what that oversized idiot had done?...maybe Levy-chan had liked when Gajeel had kissed her?!

"Levy-chan, let's go on a mission. You can pick this time, Droy and I didn't do very well last time..." Jet rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly at the thought of how badly their last mission had gone, "if you want, we can ask Gajeel to come...the two of you can talk without the rest of the guild listening in or being suspicious of anything, you know? He did help us train yesterday; we could say that he wanted to see if there had been a noticeable change if anyone asks?"

Levy released the breath she'd been subconsciously holding while she'd been waiting for his response. He understood, and he was going to help her. She looked up at him, smiling, and nodded.

* * *

**Will Gajeel go on a mission with them? Will Levy really be able to talk to Gajeel about what had happened? How will Gajeel respond to her if she does? Does Jet really understand? Or will he get to Gajeel first?**

**Hope you enjoyed this! ^_^ Sorry again about the wait! I've been really ill all week :(**

**Thank you so much ****_Safyre_****! I really appreciate your review! *_* Thank you so much! XD I hope this chapter hasn't let you down! This story is about to get lively again, but I'm so glad you like the idea behind my story! XD**

**_Ice and Thunder_****, thank you so much! XD I really hope you liked this chapter too! Really sorry about the delay! Hopefully everything will be back to normal next week! And it's about to start getting lively! ^_^ I kinda thought that it would be naturally for them to start to at least speak to each other, since they're both 'in the same boat', and I hope this chapter wasn't too much...**

**_'Guest'_****, hi! Are you the same guest every time? I do really appreciate your reviews too! ^_^ And I'm really glad you liked the last chapter! ^_^**

**Ok, due to family matters, this Sunday's one-shot shall be on Monday! At the usual time hopefully! It's actually going to be Ch2 of 'The Life of the First Mate' since I didn't have any one-shots! ****_*STRONG YAOI WARNING FOR CH2!*_**** I do have a Zorobin one-shot for the following Sunday! And I'm working on more Gajevy! ^_^ Thursday's chapter should be back to normal next week – sorry about this one being late! **


	8. Chapter 8 - A Mission Together

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!**

**Sorry! I'm racing for a uni-deadline and almost missed updating this! Sorry! Here's the next chapter – hope you enjoy it! ^_^**

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**Chapter Eight – A Mission Together**

Gajeel stared at the backs of Shrimp and her boyfriend as he walked at the back with Droy while Lily flew above them. He'd been surprised by her pup's request but had accepted, figuring it would be a chance to see how much damage he had done. He watched as the two of them walked together; him with his arm around her shoulders, her with her right arm around his thin, scrawny waist and her head snuggled into him. If anything, yesterday had brought the two of them closer together, putting Shrimp further out of Gajeel's reach.

He clenched his fists as the impertinent pup bent down to kiss her. She accepted his kiss! Gajeel tensed, how could she kiss him?! After everything that had happened?! He should have run after her, he shouldn't have sent her damn pup! He noticed Droy glance at him and grunted. The Plant Mage looked away, feeling sorry for the Dragon Slayer. He knew how Gajeel was feeling, he felt the exact same way – even if he'd accepted a long time ago that he'd never win her heart, but then again, Jet had resigned himself to the same conclusion. Maybe there was still a chance?

A roar sliced through the air.

Gajeel covered his ears, cursing. He looked around him to find out where it had come from. A small man, no more than four foot, dressed in a navy jacket and smart black trousers, walked towards them from the direction they'd been walking in. There was something strange about the man. Gajeel took a fighting stance and Team Shadow Gear followed his example, Lily landing next to Shrimp in his battle form, sword drawn.

"Excellent! I hadn't planned for this little coincidence, but I must say it is absolutely perfect! Team Shadow Gear and the Dragon Slayer that caused that annoying little set back! I don't know who the giant cat is, but I'm sure he'll make this little test run even more interesting! I have to try out my little baby before I set him on the Guild Masters after all!" The man's shrill voice forced Gajeel to keep his ears covered, but that didn't stop him from growling at the tiny threat. "Omoi Kage!"

The roar assaulted the group's ears once again and the sun was blocked out of sight. The world became black around them as the darkness grew to enclose them completely. They were trapped in the shadows. The man that had called upon the monster could no longer be seen. Gajeel lost Shrimp's scent as the darkness engulfed them. He couldn't see anything – not even his eyes were working in this lightless place.

He felt something move to his right and remembered the Plant Mage next to him. Without some sort of light, his magic would be useless – how could plants grow without light? Gajeel tried to work out where the others were. He grabbed the Plant Mage's arm, earning a small squeal, and pulled him towards where the others had been standing.

"Droy?! Droy?! Are you ok?! Where are you?!" Gajeel continued towards the other pup's desperate voice. His magic wouldn't be much use either if he couldn't see.

Gajeel was rapidly running out of possible useable 'objects'. Hopefully Lily would still be with Shrimp, why couldn't he smell anything?! Wait, Shrimp can make anything solid! If she could light this strange darkness, maybe they'd be able to work out a solution – this had to be some sort of trap! Omoi Kage had to be in this shadow somewhere!

"Shrimp! Shrimp, can you hear me?!" He yelled in the direction that the Pup's voice was coming from, "Shrimp?! If you can hear me, can you use your magic to make a light of some sort?! These guys will be completely useless in here!"

Gajeel knew he wouldn't be. He didn't want to use that monster that tried to take over him, especially not in front of Shrimp, but in this darkness, it wasn't really in front of her, was it? If she couldn't see him, she'd never know, right? If attacking with Shrimp's light didn't work, he could just snuff it out and use the monster within him and she'd never know! If he became one with these shadows he wouldn't even need to see or smell – he'd be able to _feel_ the monster hidden within the darkness!

The word 'LIGHT' appeared in front of his face as he almost walked into Shrimp and Lily, the pup standing a little behind them, his face lighting up at the sight of his unharmed teammate. He nodded his thanks to Gajeel for helping his friend and suggesting Levy's light. They looked around them, searching the seemingly never ending darkness, worry becoming apparent on the faces of Team Shadow Gear. Lily and Gajeel nodded at each other, accepting Gajeel's unspoken backup plan.

"Whe..." The Plant Mage suddenly disappeared from the side of Gajeel, cutting him short.

Jet instantly grabbed Levy-chan's arm, calling out to his friend in vain, silence offending everyone's ears. He looked at Gajeel, hating the fact that he was depending on his rival, hoping Gajeel had noticed something they hadn't with his dragon's senses. Gajeel continued to search the empty darkness, he couldn't see, smell or hear anything. The only thing that Shrimp's light made visible were the mages around him, even the ground below them remained black. This wasn't just some sort of strange darkness, everything around them was just black.

"Don't hold onto Shrimp. This isn't just any shadow, I don't know what it is but your magic won't be any use here. If it grabs you, you'll take Shrimp with you and then Lily and I won't be able to help you because there'll be no light." Jet was about to argue, furious at the Dragron Slayer's order, but realised that he was right and grudgingly released Levy-chan's arm.

Right on cue, Jet was snatched into the darkness. Gajeel could see the fear on Shrimp's face. She was yet to say anything, was she just afraid of this darkness? Or was she thinking the same thing as him? Had she worked out his and Lily's backup plan?! He studied her face as the world, his world, slowly turned black. Shrimp had turned off the light, gazing pleadingly into his eyes before taking hold of Lily's arm as the light faded.

Gajeel took a deep breath, readying himself. If he remained calm he could control this monster. He and Lily had been working on it in secret since the Grand Magic Games when Lily had warned him of Shrimp's fear. Gajeel started to suck in the darkness around him. He opened his eyes and seen nothing. He could see Shrimp clinging to Lily and Lily standing ready to fight, eyes darting to Shrimp beside him, not that he could see her, but other than them there was just nothing.

He could feel a strange presence in the shadows; it felt strangely familiar but different. It felt like the female Shadow Mage from Death's Claw, but how could it be? There's no way that she'd be out of a hospital bed right now, never mind a jail cell! Gajeel thought back to what Grim Reaper had said, and the realisation hit him hard. Sacrifice! Death's Claw had been working for someone! That someone must have intercepted the Magic Council's convoy and taken the now useless female Shadow Mage to use as a sacrifice! Gajeel snorted at the strange justice, but he had to deal with this creature now.

"Lily! Shrimp! This 'darkness' – it's not a 'what', it's a 'who'! The guy we just seen sacrificed Death's Claw's Shadow Mage to raise this monster!" He yelled.

The blackness started to shrink back, forming a towering solid shadow over them, still blocking out the sun from view. Gajeel could see the still bodies of Shrimp's lapdogs to the side of the creature. Gajeel looked towards Lily and Shrimp. Fear was clear across the whole, shaking body of Shrimp. She was staring directly at _him_. He looked back at her, straining to hold back the pain he felt at the sight of her looking at him like that.

"Shrimp...stay down. Leave this to me – I won't let you die here! After I finish this fight...I'll leave. I promise. You can live a happy life without me, without the terrifying monster that I am. You made me come out of the dark, Shrimp. You forgave me even after what I did to you. That was when I started to think that maybe the Master had been right when he'd told me I didn't have to follow the darkness anymore. I didn't know I'd turn into this monster after I became the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer on that last day, Shrimp, but don't worry – you'll never have to see this evil creature trapped within me again, I'm sorry, Shrimp. Goodbye." He turned and started to walk toward the monster before him. He was the only one who could defeat this monster.

* * *

**Are Jet and Droy ok? Can Gajeel defeat the monster and save Levy and Lily from the deadly shadow before them? Or will he be taken over by his own darkness?**

**Hey! ^_^Hope you enjoyed this chapter! ^_^ Thanks for the favourites, follows and reviews! Next week's chapter will be up on Wednesday! (Yip, a day early!) I have a friend coming to stay so you will have a shorter wait this time! ^_^ This Sunday's one-shot is a Zorobin called 'Coming Clean' ^_^ and well done to anyone who braved Ch2 of 'The Life of the First Mate'!**

**_Ice and thunder_****, thank you! XD I love those moments! XD And I am sooo happy that my story has been like that for you! XD Hehe, they're actually a new thing I thought I would try out for this! It's really great to know they're actually working! XD I hope you liked this chapter! ^_^ Next week's is the penultimate, so hopefully you're ready for the upcoming 'finale' ;D**

**_Safyre22,_**** sorry about that! And today's was a little late too...well next week's will be early?! 0:D I'm so glad you're enjoying it though! XD And I'm ecstatic that you're feeling the angst! XD How'd you feel about this one then?! ^_^ I was listening to a lot of Skillet when I wrote this, and yeah...I think it went pretty well ^_^ I can't even remember why I came up with the idea of Levy giving Jet or Droy a chance (GaLe/Gajevy 'til the end! XD), and I had no idea what I was going to do with this when I started! I wrote the summary at the end of chapter 4 with no plan of where it was going, it just sort of came out of my fingertips and onto the screen...and I'm not going to spoil the ending for you! But you ****_are_**** about to find out why this is a 'horror', because this chapter is only the start 3;D**

**_NOTE TO EVERYONE_****: I'm so happy you're enjoying this and still continuing to read my little story! :'D**


	9. Chapter 9 - Two Monsters

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima! :D**

**Hey! ^_^ Hope everyone is ready for this! It may not be written all that well, I did try! :D Anyway, hope you're prepared and will enjoy this penultimate chapter! :D**

* * *

**Chapter Nine – Two Monsters**

"Shrimp...stay down. Leave this to me – I won't let you die here! After I finish this fight...I'll leave. I promise. You can live a happy life without me, without the terrifying monster that I am. You made me come out of the dark, Shrimp. You forgave me even after what I did to you. That was when I started to think that maybe the Master had been right when he'd told me I didn't have to follow the darkness anymore. I didn't know I'd turn into this monster after I became the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer on that last day, Shrimp, but don't worry – you'll never have to see this evil creature trapped within me again, I'm sorry, Shrimp. Goodbye." He turned and started to walk toward the monster before him. He was the only one who could defeat this monster.

He saw the giant black shadow 'hand' swipe towards his friends and started to run. He was already too far away from them, he'd never make it – they'd never even see it coming! Gajeel saw the hand make contact with Lily and Shrimp. It was like it was happening in slow motion as his friends were sent flying through the air towards him by that one giant evil hand. Gajeel stopped running as Shrimp's tiny limp body hit him in the chest with tremendous force. He caught her before she hit the hard ground as her body started to slowly fall away from him. Fear raced through his body, turning him cold.

He laid her gently on the ground, kneeling beside her, stroking the side of her face while he cradled her head as she looked up at him with slowly fading, closing eyes, trying to say something to him, only to manage just his name in a strangled whisper before his world started its descent towards permanent darkness. He couldn't escape this nightmare he was trapped in, it was real. It wasn't that woman's disturbing power that had overcome the Plant Mage a few days before; he knew that hoping it would be would just him clutching at the few straws that were left available to his desperate, darkening mind. He looked towards Lily's motionless chibi body and then to the giant monster standing in front of him.

He needed to keep control of his own monster within, but he needed someone to wake him up even more. No-one could change him back from the monster he was about to become, not any more. He no longer had a chance to tame the shadows. Pure rage swelled up inside of him. He had lost the battle to remain Gajeel; the real Gajeel that Shrimp and the rest of the guild cared about, even considered as family. The monster within finally took over completely.

The Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer glided effortlessly along the ground towards the creature that had given him his freedom; his freedom to do as he liked. The dark creature had cut the few remaining strings that had tied him down. Now he was free to destroy and kill as he pleased – and he was going to start with the creature in front of him that looked like it would give him a _real_ fight!

...

Gajeel lay on the ground, battered and bloody. He looked over to the still bodies of his guildmates scattered around him, ready to close his eyes to join them. He'd promised Shrimp that she'd never have to see his terrifying face again, but maybe in that other world he would have control over all of himself, and maybe even never have to use the monster within him again. What was he thinking? He hadn't lost yet! He'd consumed half of the monster's shadows trying to gain enough energy to defeat it, he couldn't give up now! It stood completely still, still towering over him at half of its original size, as he looked back up at it. He tried but failed to pull more shadows into him. He needed iron. A blinding light hit the shadow creature from the sky and Gajeel's world went dark.

...

"...trapped in darkness. Gajeel...he turned into the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer to defeat the creature...and the darkness...it condensed into this horrible monster and...and...and Gajeel, he said goodbye to me and started to walk towards the monster...I don't even know why! It was as if he was leaving us to go join sides with that...that monster, but Gajeel would never do that! He would never leave Lily and me! Then...then I was lying on the ground with Gajeel staring down at me, I tried to ask him what he was doing but...everything just went dark..." Gajeel could hear Shrimp crying from somewhere near him as she told someone nearby her account of what had happened to them.

Gajeel slowly opened his eyes, blinking as the harsh light hit them once more. He realised almost instantly that it wasn't the same light that he'd seen when he passed out and started trying to work out where he was. Was he dead? No, Shrimp wouldn't be here explaining to someone about what had happened to them. His eyes focused on the light lacrima on the ceiling directly above his head and he registered the soft bed under him as he lay there. He was in the infirmary back at Fairy Tail. Shrimp was still alive! He'd just lost control! ...just lost control? He still couldn't safely use it! He clenched his fists tight on the bed sheets.

"Gajeel?" Bunnygirl's nervous voice reached his sensitive ears which still rang with Omoi Kage's pain filled final roar.

He grunted back at her, acknowledging her to let her know that he had actually heard her. He felt her move cautiously towards him from somewhere on the far side of the room and tried to turn his pounding head away from her. His eyes went wide as he suddenly realised he couldn't move – what had happened?! He tried to move his arms to find they were just as immovable as his head. He looked up at Bunnygirl as she reached his bed, surprise showing clearly in all his normally emotionless features.

"Gajeel, Erza restrained you after Cana used Fairy Glitter. It was as if you'd just come back to life and freaked out at the light! You were like a wild animal, it was terrifying! I couldn't believe it when I seen all your injuries and you were still continuing to try to fight them! They couldn't get through to you! It was like you were possessed! Erza had to put her new armour on to stop you! What happened after Levy-chan passed out?! Why did you attack her?!" Tears were falling on his chest as Bunnygirl leaned over him, looking pleadingly into his eyes, desperate for an answer.

"I didn't." His voice sounded rough and hollow as it echoed in the silence that surrounded them, "It did. I only seen it happen because I'd become the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer. I couldn't do anything. I need to get stronger, Bunnygirl. Let me up, I need to get stronger – I thought she was dead."

"Gajeel! You need to rest. The monster was taken out by Cana's Fairy Glitter, everyone's alive, but you need to rest." Erza's stern voice cut through the air.

"I'm fine! Just let me up! I have to get stronger! I have to protect her! I..." Gajeel suddenly remembered his promise to Shrimp, his frustration instantly starting to fade to a sad emptiness, "...I...I have to leave."

"What?!" Shrimp's voice.

It sounded so hurt. It had sounded just like that when she'd managed to say his name before she had passed out in his arms. He'd thought he'd never hear it again. He'd thought she had just died in his arms...She hadn't even spoken to him when they'd left for that mission. Then she'd kissed that lapdog. She'd asked if his kiss had meant something and then the next time he'd seen her she'd kissed another man. He'd forgotten completely about it in the heat of battle, all he could think of was the darkness that had filled him. It had felt so much worse than the darkness that had stopped all his senses – it had _heightened_ his senses.

"Shrimp, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. I shouldn't have risked embarrassing you in front of the whole guild over it...I'm sorry that I scared you. I'm sorry that I failed to protect you...but I won't let these two force me break my promise to leave you to live your happy life wi..."

"Gajeel! Enough! Wait until you're healed before you even bother trying to go anywhere!" The Master's voice rang throughout the infirmary before a pain shot through his bandaged chest, causing Gajeel to pass out again.

* * *

**Everyone survived, but will anyone believe that it wasn't Gajeel who attacked Levy? Will Gajeel really leave? Will anyone even try to stop him if he does?**

**Hope everyone enjoyed that! :D Just a little note here – I went with the idea of 'shadows' being like an energy boost, like sugar, which means that there is a limit as to how much is useful without taking in something more substantial, such as starch, or in this case 'iron'. So basically, Gajeel had a 'shadow-rush' and reacted badly to the light, wouldn't you? ;)**

**The final chapter will be up next Thursday! :D Hope you've been enjoying this story! This Monday's 'one-shot' is actually a One Piece one, sorry! It's actually not even a one-shot, I came up with a chapter 2 for a one-shot...by accident mind, I was writing an essay and had an 'Oh!' moment; I'm still waiting to have one for 'My Unison Raid'! :P Ah, and 'Monday' because I will not be home – I'm going to a concert on Sunday! XD**

**_Safyre22,_**** how did you cope with this one?! :D I'm so happy you liked the last chapter! Those first couple of paragraphs were pretty hard to write last time, but I am so glad you weren't disappointed! I hope you weren't disappointed with this one! Next week is the final chapter, and we will find out if Gajeel keeps his promise!**

**_Ice and Thunder,_**** you have no idea how happy it makes me that you've been enjoying this! XD Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Was it what you were expecting? Or did I manage a good/bad twist?! And I just made you reread his sad goodbye...now you know why I ended the last chapter there :D **


	10. Chapter 10 - The Leaving Party

**AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima! XD**

**Ok Minna! Last chapter! Hope everyone's enjoyed this story! I enjoyed writing it and loved everyone's reviews – you have no idea how happy I am that so many people enjoyed this!**

**_Ice and Thunder,_**** can I just thank you for all your amazing reviews! Thank you so much! I'm ecstatic that you think that! XD I hope this last chapter doesn't disappoint!**

**_Safyre22,_**** what're your coping methods?! :D I'm so glad that you think that I actually got that chapter to work! XD Hope you enjoy this one!**

**So, without further ado, I give you the final chapter! ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter Ten – The Leaving Party**

Gajeel walked silently through the guild towards the giant heavy wooden doors, passing all his old friends. No-one bothered to make an effort to stop the large Iron Dragon Slayer as he made to walk out of those giant doors for one last time. He'd walked out of these doors so many times before, but never had he felt so much as he'd done so. He'd woken up in the infirmary earlier, ready to argue with the Master, to find Wendy finishing healing his wounds, his body free to move. She'd quietly explained to him about the Master knocking him out again with a blow to the chest so that he couldn't undo all of her hard work by kicking up a fuss before she had even finished. She hadn't tried to argue when he'd turned around and told her bluntly that he was leaving Fairy Tail; it didn't even seem to be a surprise to the little dark blue haired Sky Dragon Slayer.

How much did everyone know? What had the Master even told them about what had happened? He had searched her small face, unsure of whether to ask her his questions. Everyone had, thankfully, apparently survived the creature's attack, but why had Erza and Cana appeared? He'd thought Team Shadow Gear and Lily were dead when he'd lost control. Had the creature's darkness that had surrounded them been visible from wherever the two of them had been? Why hadn't they gotten there faster?! He wouldn't have had to use that power! Gajeel sat watching Wendy work away silently until she had finished; it had been so relaxing just watching her.

He pushed against the heavy door causing the giant mental hinges to creek loudly, still very aware of the deathly silence of the whole guild as they avoided making eye contact with him – even Salamander was eerily silent. Gajeel had no idea how to feel about the lack of energy coming from the younger, normally enthusiastic and passionate, Fire Dragon Slayer. He was really just going to let Gajeel leave without a fight? Gajeel grunted and opened the door fully, stepping out. Why should he care? They all thought he was just some evil monster that had gotten Team Shadow Gear alone so that he could attack them again! He didn't need to trick them into taking him on a mission with them to do that – and he certainly wouldn't just attack Shrimp! He wasn't that monster anymore! He wouldn't even just attack her pups without good reason – and they often gave him plenty, which most of the time he just took a deep breath and ignored, not wanting to anger his little Shrimp.

Gajeel started to walk lazily towards his apartment. He had hoped to catch one last glimpse of Shrimp with her nose stuck in a book before he'd left the guild forever but she hadn't been there. Her two teammates had been sitting at a table, propping each other up, obviously still drained from the attack. Gajeel hadn't even bothered asking how long it had been; knowing Wendy's abilities it could have just been yesterday that he'd fought Omoi Kage. Gajeel hoped that he'd just missed his Exceed sitting in the guild; he planned to leave him behind in his place to look after Shrimp. Gajeel only knew that Lily was still around from Erza telling him that 'everyone' was alive. He was ready to live alone once again.

He unlocked his front door and walked in. There was a lump of iron sitting on the kitchen table in front of him. He could have done with that during his battle! Maybe he should start carrying some around with him? Wait! There wasn't iron out before...had Lily laid it out for him? He walked up to the table and realised it was a mini version of the word 'IRON' lying on its side on a plate. He smiled – Shrimp had come by earlier and left him a goodbye present. He started crunching on the delicious pure iron as he walked through the door into the living room.

"Hey, Gajeel..." He froze.

Sitting on his couch, rubbing Lily's ears into submission, was Shrimp. The damn cat must have let her in. What could he say to her? Did she still think that he'd tried to kill her? He grunted at her, looking away from her searching eyes, and walked towards the window. He should just go pack his bag and leave. He had no right to talk to her, he had failed her. He'd leave her to live her happy life with her pup – she'd already chosen the speed freak over him anyway!

"Gajeel...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you...I didn't know how you felt, I'm sorry..." Levy watched his back, waiting for him to respond.

"You know, you always tell me that I'm strong, and that you want to get stronger. You asked me for help, so I helped. I started to help you even when you didn't ask. Hell, you even went as far as to call me weak for not caring at times even though I'd been trying to protect you, even from myself. Lily told me about how scared you'd been at the Grand Magic Games. I told him that I'd never use that monster in front of you again unless I had too. Even when I have to, I still try to protect you even though you look at me with those stupid hazel eyes of yours filled with damn fear!" He turned around and glared at her, "how many times have I saved you now, Shrimp? Why do you still doubt me?!...Look, just let me go. I don't know how much longer I can control it – I feel like a god damn monster, Shrimp! Just stay away for me! No-one can save me, so just go! It's too late, Shrimp. Go be happy with your lapdog."

Levy stared up into his glowing crimson eyes. She could feel the anger and frustration radiating from him. There may be some uncontrollable power trapped within him, but he was still Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer; the man who'd saved her time and time again. She'd seen the darkest side of him and she'd help to tame the shady creature that had gotten in their way. She just had to help him lose his rage and confusion; she could save him.

"Gajeel, I want to help you – don't interrupt – I want to help you gain control over the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer form. Lily told me everything. I'd worked out your 'backup plan', I knew you were going to use _it;_ I was just scared that one of these times you weren't going to come back to me. You become someone else when you use that form, and I want to help you to stay you, please?" She watched him for some sort of acknowledgment that he'd even heard her.

"What about your damn pup? I bet he wouldn't be too happy with that plan." He responded, striding towards the stairs to head to his room to start packing.

"Jet broke up with me." Levy stated, starting to walk towards the stairs to block his way.

"Yeah? Why?!" He lifted her over his shoulder effortlessly and headed back into the kitchen on his way to his front door.

"Because he accepted that I was in love with someone else." Gajeel stopped, one hand on the door handle.

"Someone else?" He kept his voice neutral, not daring to hope that it would be him, not daring to hope that he'd get to kiss those sweet, delicious lips again.

"Yeah. I'm just waiting for the weak, pathetic idiot to say something. I doubt he ever will though, so I guess I'll just have to stay single for eternity." Levy could feel Gajeel change his weight distribution under her as he started setting her on the ground.

"Who is he? I'll beat some sense into him, gihe!" He laughed, grinning at her before swooping down to steal a kiss from her. Their second kiss.

"Gajeel, that was rude! What would he think if he walked in the door and seen you kissing me like that?!" Shrimp teased, making Gajeel attempt another kiss – the damn girl still hadn't kissed him back!

Levy beat him to it. She placed her lips on his and melted into it. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she stood on her tippy toes. She felt his arms tighten around her and she entangled her fingers in his long raven black hair as they both deepened their kiss. Their first_ real_ kiss – and she'd started it.

**_Yonde kurete arigatō, min'na!_**


End file.
